Jester's Fortune

by Dewey Lambdin

Book Overview

1796. A diminutive, Corsican-born French general has inherited a ragtag army and turned it into an unstoppable fighting force. Within months, Napoleon's storm rolls across Italy and strikes a lethal blow against the Austrian empire. But while the soil of Piedmont and Tuscany runs with blood, another battle takes shape on the mysterious Adriatic Sea. Alan Lewrie and his 18-gun sloop, HMS Jester are part of a squadron of four British warships and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590130340
• ISBN13: 9781590130346
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: McBooks Press
• Length: 446 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A hopefully temporary down-turn in the series

This is the eighth novel in the "Alan Lewrie" Royal Navy series set during the Napoleonic wars, and we're up to 1796 and the beginnings of Bonaparte's conquest of most of Western Europe. The dashing and rakehell Lewie is in his early 30s now, has attained the rank of commander, and is beginning to mellow just a little as he gains experience and responsibility -- and children. Admiral Sir John Jervis, one of the most cold-blooded disciplinarians the Royal Navy ever produced but an excellent theatre commander, has been given the responsibility of cutting the French off at the knees in the Mediterranean. But the Coalition is falling apart and Great Britain is becoming isolated, the Austrian army -- supposedly "the greatest army in Europe" -- has turned out a paper tiger, and the Venetian Republic just can't be bothered to save itself. Jervis has created a small squadron to work the Adriatic, led by Capt. Thomas Charlton and including a second frigate under Capt. Benjamin Rodgers (whom Lewrie knew in the Bahamas). And there's another sloop under an aristocratic little pissant named Fillebrowne who is likely to be a burr under Lewrie's saddle for some time to come. The author takes the opportunity to display the nature of Venetian and Austro-Hungarian decadence (compared to the English Way, at any rate) and to let the reader share his intense, dramatically demonstrated disdain for anything to do with the Balkans and the region's long, long history of ethnic cleansing, religious intolerance, and tendency to torture as a tool of revenge. (Kossovo's prominence in the news didn't begin in the 1990s.) My favorite character in the book, though, is the Hungarian Lieut. Kolodzcy, seconded to the squadron as a translator and political advisor, and who turns out to be quite different from Lewrie's and Rodgers's first impression. This one is talkier than most, except for the horrific scene at the pirate encampment near the end, but I enjoyed the Brits' attempts to deal with the original of Byzantine politics.

Nother hit

Well done, sir. I can still hear the sounds of the sea, and the hearty swabies. Lambdin does it again! I cannot understand why Dewey does not have the fame that other sea authors have. Perhaps he hasn't done enough book tours! His books are problematic. Does one stay up till 3 in the AM to go with the action, or does one read a chapter at a time to savor the flavor and make it last a bit longer. A frustratin' turn of events. The only help is for DL to finish another quick...

Lambdin/Lewrie have done it again!

I have just finished Jester's Fortune. It is typical Alan Lewrie stuff, except that he somehow avoids any signifcant female interation. For Alan Lewrie, this is more than a change, it is bizarre. In this regard, I liked the old Lewrie better. I hope this is a one time hiatus. Other than that it was GREAT. A visit to the history of the Balkins and how they got so screwed up that they are still killing each other today!!!! It was either excellent timing or stupendous coincidence. In any case, you learn much, certainly more than you will ever learn from a newspaper, about why there is such a mess in the Balkins, and why there is no real reason to hope that it will improve. AND our hero Alan Lewrie is right in the middle of the history making!!!! Alan's "friend" Napolean Bonaparte is unleashed on the world and the world will never be the same. Great story superbly told.

Shows the Balkan problems are nothing new...

This is a great book. Historically accurate and fun to read, Britain decides to involve inself into the Balkans in an attempt to gain allies. The factions are happy to accept the arms but use them against all enemies, not just those intended. Perhaps those who want to involve us into the Balkans need to read this book. The ethnic/religious hatred/atrocities have been going on for centuries, and, as described in this story, is an underlying problem that good intentions will not make go away. It is a very graphic story, but very well written. On a personal note, I hope the author allows Lewrie to remain a bit of a rogue. He's becoming downright dignified!

Another account taking Alan Lewrie into a new arena

Like Dewey Lambdin's previous books, this tale takes British Naval Commander Alan Lewrie into an area seldom covered by other novels related to this historical period. Commander Lewrie takes Jester into the Adriatic as part of a naval squadron sent to intercept French trade. The book provides a good account of the situation, including the troubles between ethnic and religious groups in the area. The present troubles in the Balkans are taken back 200 years, with the Serbs as the villains, and background material on some of the origins. With graphic descriptions of atrocities, this is not a children's book. The account is interspersed with details of Napoleon's campaigns in Italy and his rise to power. An old love of Lewrie's reappears, along with a couple of old school chums from Harrow, and a new woman leads him into temptation while he is far from home and family.